This invention relates to tubular medical grafts, and more particularly to connectors for use in making tubular connections between tubular grafts and a patient""s tubular tissue structures.
Goldsteen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,976,178, Sullivan et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,432, and Sullivan et al. international publication No. WO 98/55027 (all of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein) show examples of medical procedures in which it is necessary to make one or more tubular connections between a patient""s tubular body tissue structures and a tubular graft. The graft may be either natural body tissue relocated from elsewhere in the patient""s body, an artificial graft structure, or a combination of natural and artificial structures. In the exemplary procedures shown in the three references mentioned above it is typically necessary to connect an end of the graft to a side wall of the patient""s pre-existing body tubing, but it may also sometimes be necessary to connect an end of a graft to an end of a pre-existing body tube. The three references mentioned above deal primarily with procedures that are performed to the greatest extent possible percutaneously and through lumens of a patient""s tubular body structures. Thus graft connectors are sometimes needed that can be delivered and installed via such lumens. At other times, however, graft connectors are needed that can be installed during more traditional surgical procedures.
It is important for graft connectors to be easy and quick to install (whether percutaneously or surgically), but to be secure after installation. It is typically preferred for a graft connector to be relatively flexible after installation so that it does not form an unnaturally rigid structure in the patient""s body. Improvements are constantly sought in all of these aspects of graft connectors.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of this invention to provide improved tubular graft connectors for making tubular connections between tubular grafts and a patient""s tubular body tissue structures.
It is a more particular object of this invention to provide tubular graft connectors that are easy and quick to install, in some cases percutaneously and in some cases surgically, but which are strong and secure after installation.
These and other objects of the invention are accomplished in accordance with the principles of the invention by providing tubular graft connector structures that, for making end-to-side connections between an end of a graft and a side wall of a patient""s tubular body structure, have a first tubular section for tubular attachment to the graft and a second tubular section transverse to the first section for tubular attachment to the patient""s tubular body structure. The second section may extend transversely in only one direction from the first section, making a somewhat L-shaped connector. Or the second section may extend transversely in both directions from the first section, making a T-shaped connector. The second section may be adapted to fit concentrically within the patient""s tubular body structure, with the first section extending from an aperture in the side wall of that body structure. The first section may be connected in advance to the end of the graft. For example, if the graft is or includes an artificial tubular structure, the first section may be integral with or otherwise attached to that artificial structure. Alternatively, if the graft is or includes a natural tubular structure, the first section may be tubularly connected either inside or outside of that structure.
Connector structures of this invention may include a substantially annular component which fits around an axial end portion of a graft conduit and which is circumferentially compressible to annularly engage that conduit. The annular component may have radially inwardly extending prongs for enhancing the engagement of the graft conduit. Resilient fingers may be resiliently biased to extend radially outward adjacent an axial end portion of the annular structure to retain the annular structure in an aperture in a side wall of a patient""s pre-existing body conduit. Alternatively, for use in making an end-to-end connection, the connector structure may include a second substantially annular component similar to the first component for attachment to an end portion of a second body conduit similar to the attachment of the first component to the graft conduit.
The invention also includes certain methods and apparatus which can be used in the installation of graft connectors.
Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages, will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.